Welcome back to our April blog series: Autism Support During the Pandemic. This series will provide you with helpful information for teens with autism, neurodiverse young adults, or autism parents. Previously in this blog series, I talked about how sheltering in place can actually be beneficial for autistic teens or young adults. Last week, I gave some tips for autism parents coping with sheltering in place with their teen or young adult.
Today, I want to share some scientific research on factors related to immune functioning in people with autism. Extensive research indicates that people with autism are at a higher risk for immune problems due to genetics and socio-environmental factors.
First, I’ll give you some background on research. I will talk about the general population so you can learn about what may compromise the immune system. Then, with that knowledge, you can more easily understand why people with autism are at a greater risk for immune problems. I will end by giving some tips on how to boost your immune system if you are neurodiverse or on the autism spectrum.
Immune System in the General Population
Since the 1970s, research has consistently shown that the better a person’s friendships, the healthier and happier they generally are. In fact, a meta-analysis study suggests that the lack of close social relationships is as bad for your health. Just as bad as smoking, poor physical activity, and obesity. Also, Dr. Cole’s study out of the University of California, Los Angeles found that chronic loneliness in people can negatively impact two types of white blood cells. These cells serve as the “first line of defense” in the immune response.
Based on this study, Dr. Cole indicated that loneliness causes a person to feel chronically threatened in their social world. Feelings of constant loneliness wear down the immune system. The immune system keeps getting “social” threat signals, triggering the fight-or-flight response. We might call this the stress response. Most of my clients on the autism spectrum experience this flight-or-fight, stress response from social interactions. This stress response causes the immune system to become overactive, exhausted and weakened.
Cortisol is a hormone that is triggered during the stress response. I feel like cortisol has gotten a bad reputation for being a stress-hormone. Actually it serves a vital role in regulating stress. However, chronic high levels of cortisol over time can compromise your immune system. The moral of this story is that the higher and more chronic your stress (i.e., cortisol levels), and the lower your white blood cell count, the worse off your immune system is.
Immune System Functioning and Autism
How does this research relate to people with autism? Studies indicate that high-functioning teens with autism and autistic adults, compared to neurotypical peers, have greater loneliness, poorer quality friendships, and lower social network status. My clients with autism, often describe how stressed out they are. This comes from not knowing how to read social cues or not knowing the unspoken social rules that could help them make friends. They are fearful of saying the wrong thing and upsetting someone, and they worry they will make a fool out of themselves. Most people with autism have experienced social rejection. Their bodies are often in a fight-or-flight stress response during social interactions. This weakens their immune system over time.
In addition, research from the UC Davis MIND Institute has found that some children with autism have fewer molecules (regulatory cytokines) that control the immune response and prevent autoimmune disease. The study found that these children with autism were genetically more prone to inflammation and infection.
People with Autism are More Likely to Have a Weakened Immune System Because of Both Genetic and Socio-Environmental Reasons
But, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are many things you can do to improve your immune system, and relatedly, your mood. During this coronavirus pandemic, it is important to continue doing things that you enjoy from your home. Doing such activities, while sheltering in place, will strengthen your immune function and boost your mood.
Below I offer easy strategies you can implement starting today, from the comfort of your own home.
How To Boost Your Immune System and Mood if You Have Autism
Some great options for people with autism to lower stress levels, and boost your immune system and mood are:
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Reading
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Cuddling with your pet
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Artwork
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Write fan-fiction, comic, poetry, song
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Video-gaming
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Playing an instrument
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Video chatting with loved ones
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Online exercise videos
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Online classes of interest
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Do a puzzle
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Dancing or singing like nobody’s watching
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Listening to music that is uplifting and mood-boosting
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Do online tournaments for chess and other games
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Setting boundaries on how much and how often you consume information about COVID-19
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Sticking to a routine can lower stress levels
Take this opportunity of sheltering in place to learn a new skill:
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Learn a new language
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Play a new instrument
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Learn how to sing, rap or beatbox
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Practice new dance moves
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Master a new video-game
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Learn programming language
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Start that blog you’ve been wanting to write
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Learn how to play chess
At chess.com you can challenge the computer to a chess game and set the level from 1-10 (easy to grandmaster). Tournaments for all types of games, including chess, video games, etc are being started online!
Next week, we will dive more deeply into the feel-good hormones that can boost your immune system and mood. And, I will give tips on how to increase these hormones for people with autism.
Timely Autism Resources to Help You in the Coming Days
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are dedicated to continuously providing tips and support to people with autism, their loved ones, and their providers. We know that it can be overwhelming to sift through the different resources available online. Every day more and more are being added. That is why we are carefully selecting relevant resources from reputable sources for you and posting them on our Resource Page. We also are providing our own new content, which will appear in our newsletter, blogs, and on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Consider Joining Our Online Autism Parent Support Group
You may be experiencing more stress around parenting your teen with autism or neurodiverse young adult right now. For this reason, we are offering our Online Parent Support Group on a donation basis. The group is for parents of a teen with high functioning autism (15+ years old) or a young adult with Asperger’s type profile. If you are feeling burnt out or are needing support, wanting strategies to increase positive interactions with your child, or the COVID-19 epidemic is taking a toll on your family, reach out today! Typically, the fee is $150 per session. However, we are instead accepting donations of any amount to support families during this pandemic.
Online Social Skills & Support Groups at Open Doors Therapy:
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Open Doors Therapy has moved to provide all their autism support groups online. We use a secure video platform to conduct our social skills groups and have seen great results with our participants. It’s almost like they are all together in our South Bay Autism Therapy Clinic.
Currently, we are offering the following online social skills groups for high-functioning teens and adults on the autism spectrum and autism parents in the State of California:
Please note that due to the laws that govern my licensure as a therapist, I am only able to see clients that physically live in the state of Califronia.
Begin Online Group Therapy for Autism in the State of California:
If you’re looking for an online social skills group and live in the state of California, we would love to speak with you about the many ways we can help you be successful. We have a variety of group therapy options and will help you determine which group would best fit your, or your child’s, unique needs. To begin online group therapy in California, please follow these steps:
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Schedule a free 30-minute consultation appointment. During this video call, we will work to find a group that will best meet your unique needs during the Coronavirus Pandemic.- Like me on Facebook. This will help you stay up-to-date on Open Doors Therapy and give you more information on our autism therapy services.
- Sign up to receive my newsletter. This contains useful information regarding living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder or parenting a neurodiverse teen or young adult.
Other Services for the Neurodiverse at Open Doors Therapy:
Our South Bay Area autism therapy clinic serves high-functioning autistic adults and teens with autism. This includes people who identify as having Aspergers, high functioning autism, undiagnosed autism traits, etc. and their families.
Our counseling clinic offers a variety of autism therapy services including individual counseling for autistic teens and adults, and parent counseling. Also, our we offer several different social skills groups online for neurodiverse working professionals, college students with autistic traits, gifted youth & caregivers, autistic adults, women who identify as neurodiverse, a summer social skills college transition training program for youth transitioning to college, a mothers group, and an online parent support group. Please call or email our California counseling office for more information on how we can best serve you.
About the Author:
Dr. Tasha Oswald is a trained developmental and clinical psychologist. And, she is the founder and director of Open Doors Therapy, a private practice specializing in autism therapy services in the South Bay Area, near San Francisco, CA. Dr. Oswald specializes in helping neurodiverse teens and adults and facilitating social skills groups.
